Convoy Launches Go Marketplace for Preloaded Trailers

Convoy's booth at MATS 2018. (John Sommers II for Transport Topics)

Convoy, a trucking network and platform based in Seattle, launched Convoy Go, a marketplace that allows any carrier or owner-operator in the United States to start hauling preloaded trailers and to operate at the same level as large asset-based carriers, according to a company news release April 18.

Drop shipments, or preloaded trailers, currently represent the majority of Fortune 500 company shipments, according to Convoy. To date, most of these shipments have been serviced by large asset-based carriers.

Convoy Go enables any U.S. carrier or owner-operator using the Convoy app to operate at the same level as large asset-based carriers in terms of fleet utilization, service levels and access to shipments, according to Convoy officials.

With its “drop and hook” marketplace, Convoy Go creates a “grab and go” system, in which carriers bring their power unit, pick up a preloaded trailer and hit the road, Convoy officials said. To accomplish this, Convoy said its Go app uses Universal Trailer Pool, a nationwide pool of Convoy-managed trailers that can be used by any driver in Convoy’s network, with no rental fees.

Convoy’s data show that up to a third of the cost of truck freight in the United States is attributable to time spent either waiting for appointments or waiting at the dock to load and unload, according to Tito Hubert, product lead for Convoy Go.

Hubert said Convoy Go reduces driver wait time in facilities from an average of three hours to less than an hour, and provides five- to 10-hour appointment windows, offering drivers flexibility to expand their schedule. — Transport Topics